Citation Nr: 21032810 Decision Date: 05/28/21 Archive Date: 05/28/21 DOCKET NO. 16-14 039 DATE: May 28, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for hepatitis C is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, to include as secondary to herbicide exposure, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from October 1972 to October 1976. These matters come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2015 rating decision of a Regional Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). These matters were previously before the Board in June 2019 when they were remanded for additional evidentiary development. 1. Entitlement to service connection for hepatitis C is remanded. 2. Entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, to include as secondary to herbicide exposure is remanded. Although the Board regrets the further delay in these matters, a remand is required before these claims can be properly adjudicated. The Veteran's claims file contains numerous notices of returned mail received by VA, including multiple requests for development with no response from the Veteran. The Board further notes that the Veteran failed to show for his scheduled VA examination. As a result of the incorrect address, the Veteran received no notice of actions that have been occurring in relation to this pending appeal, including the Agency of Original Jurisdiction's (AOJ) attempts to complete the subsequent development requested by the Board in regards to his hepatitis C risk factors and potential herbicide exposure in Vietnam. The Veteran's address has now been updated and is current. The Board finds that a remand is warranted to allow the AOJ to reattempt the development prescribed by the Board in the June 2019 Board remand, including affording the Veteran a VA examination, and sending all necessary and appropriate notices to the Veteran's new, current address. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Notify the Veteran that the unit histories and command chronologies from March 1973 to December 1973 for 1st Marine Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, and 3rd Marine Division could not be located and request that he submit any relevant documents in his possession. 2. Provide the Veteran with a hepatitis risk factors questionnaire and give him a reasonable period of time to respond. 3. Thereafter, schedule the Veteran for a VA examination regarding his claim of service connection for hepatitis C. The claims file must be reviewed. The examiner must also discuss the Veteran's in-service complaints, symptoms, and experiences (including any hepatitis C risk behaviors) with the Veteran, and document these in the examination report. The examiner is requested to opine as to whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's hepatitis C began during, or is related to, some incident of the Veteran's active duty service. 4. After completing the requested actions, and any additional development deemed warranted, readjudicate the claims in light of all pertinent evidence and legal authority. If the claims remain denied, a supplemental statement of the case must be provided to the Veteran and his representative. After the Veteran and his representative have had an adequate opportunity to respond, the appeal must be returned to the Board for appellate review. The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matters the Board has remanded. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999). KRISTI L. GUNN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. C. Slaughter, Associate Counsel The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.